LIVERPOOL, NY - Dozens of Liverpool community members and school district employees have been meeting regularly since August to discuss the district's closed athletic stadium and what should be done next.

Today, the group will recommend the school board consider sending what it called a "bare-bones" proposal to voters this February.

The now 10-year-old artificial turf athletic stadium was declared unusable in December. The field's surface bubbled and district officials have not been able to determine what caused that to happen.

In the meantime, most athletic teams have been practicing on grass and a few teams on fields rented elsewhere. The football, track, lacrosse and field hockey teams play their games off-site, said Potter, who's also a stadium committee co-chair.

Two Liverpool High School students started selling T-shirts to express their frustrations about not having a field on which to play. Several parents also have spoken out at board meetings.

The stadium committee will recommend the school board not include expanded parking, a new press box, restrooms, concession stand, scoreboard, field lights or visitor bleachers in the next project proposal.

Instead, committee members shrunk the size of the project to three items: new turf, a new track and new home side bleachers. The cost has not been determined, Potter said.

"In order to be fiscally responsible, it was necessary to reduce the size of the project," Potter said.

Turf has been a controversial topic in many school districts, not just in Liverpool.

Fayetteville-Manlius residents in March defeated a $4.6 million proposal to create an artificial turf stadium.

Jamesville-DeWitt school board members chose in January not to put up an artificial turf referendum because the board decided it would not be fiscally responsible. They said they were concerned about having to replace the turf before the original field was paid off.

And Baldwinsville residents in October 2007 opposed stadium renovations because of a tax increase and artificial turf.

Artificial turf surfaces typically last 10 to 15 years. After Liverpool school district voters in February rejected a $44.5 million proposal that also included work at three school buildings, some residents said they were unsure about approving a new turf field when the old one did not meet its life expectancy, and others saw it as a luxury. District officials have said the turf is used for athletics and physical education classes, and is a necessity.

Liverpool voters in June defeated a second, $6.3 million proposal to overhaul the high school stadium and install new artificial turf.

Shortly after, the stadium committee formed to take a closer look at the current stadium conditions. The committee is comprised of 28 community members, 21 district employees and four consultants.

Committee members also re-evaluated whether everything in the original proposals, such as the scoreboard, press box, restrooms and other items, was absolutely necessary to replace.

"In my opinion there was some reluctance from some stadium committee members in cutting this potential project to a bare minimum, but given the economic times it was prudent for us to cut it back," Potter said.

School board members are expected to vote at their Dec. 8 meeting on whether to approve a third public vote.